1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices and methods for removably connecting trim to a wall or ceiling or both.
2. Description of Related Art
There are two main purposes of trim carpentry. The first is to cover up all the rough edges left over from the construction of a house or other building. The other main purpose is to add a decorative and finished look to the walls, doors and windows of the house or other building. Thus, trim carpentry is an important part of the presentation of a home or building.
Installing trim is a difficult and demanding job. Typically, individual pieces of trim are cut and nailed into place more or less permanently affixing the trim to a wall or ceiling or around a door or window. The holes produced in the trim by driving nails through the trim require puttying to fill the holes and sanding to prepare the trim for painting, staining or other coating. This difficult process is made more difficult by the fact that walls, floors, ceilings and door and window frames are seldom flat, straight and square.
Further, the flatness, straightness and squareness of these items often changes over time as the building shifts or settles. In addition, it is often desirable to remove or replace pieces of trim to give a new appearance or to replace damaged or worn pieces. Also, it is often desirable to have access to a wall or ceiling behind a piece of trim in order to access the wall or ceiling or a cavity behind the wall or ceiling or to run wires or cabling behind the trim. As a result, it is often necessary or desirable or both to remove pieces of trim previously permanently affixed. At best this usually results in a difficult process especially when trying to preserve the piece of trim to be removed. Often the trim piece is damaged in the removal process. If a trim piece is reused, the original nails have to be cut off or removed or both and the existing nail holes or new holes created by the new nails or both have to be filled with putty and sanded.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to be able to easily remove and reinstall trim.